The Vice President of India Shri
M. Hamid Ansari has said that a
significant part of our rock art heritage still remains outside the purview of
the Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology Departments. We need
to evolve a more holistic approach to the study, documentation and conservation
of rock art taking into account the social and economic needs of the local
community, especially the indigenous people, the aborigines, tribals and nomads.
Delivering inaugural address at the ‘International Conference on Rock
Art’ organized by the Indira Gandhi
National Centre for the Arts here today, he said that the successful
conservation must necessarily incorporate local area development through employment
generation, boosting local crafts and arts, building of infrastructure,
environmental conservation and landscaping. A stronger partnership among
different stakeholders, including local communities, awareness campaigns,
capacity building, and involvement of youth is of great importance for
attainment of this goal.
He expressed his concern that the
pressures of urbanisation and population growth are not only threatening our
historic monuments but also prehistoric rock art sites. Unless we act quickly to
improve the manner in which we look after these treasures, irreparable damage
could be caused. This is a great national enterprise in which different arms of
the Government should partner with civil society and local communities with
required imagination and administrative resolve.
The Vice President said that human
beings have used their sense perceptions to experience, reflect and express
themselves through singing, dancing, drawing, printing and other forms of
creative medium from the earliest times. In this regard rock art, which depicts
the earliest recorded expressions of our species, is amongst the most important
cultural heritage of mankind. It is also a valuable repository of our artistic,
cognitive and cultural beginnings since the earliest days. India is fortunate
to possess one of the three largest concentrations of this world heritage, the
other two being Australia and South Africa, where rock art is still a living
pursuit.
Shri Ansari honoured Dr Yashodhar
Mathpal, a noted Rock Art conservationist on this occasion.
Following is the text
of Vice President’s inaugural address :
“I am happy to be here today for
the inauguration of the International Conference on Rock Art being organized by
the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. I extend a warm welcome to the
distinguished scholars who have come from various parts of the world to
participate in it.
From the earliest times, human
beings have used their sense perceptions to experience, reflect and express
themselves through singing, dancing, drawing, printing and other forms of
creative medium. In this regard rock art, which depicts the earliest recorded expressions
of our species, is amongst the most important cultural heritage of mankind. It
is also a valuable repository of our artistic, cognitive and cultural
beginnings since the earliest days.
India is fortunate to possess one
of the three largest concentrations of this world heritage, the other two being
Australia and South Africa, where rock art is still a living pursuit.
Realizing the importance of rock
art, the UNESCO has declared many rock art sites throughout the world as World
Heritages sites. Amongst these sites, to our great pride, is Bhimbetka in
Madhya Pradesh. However, despite the immense potential that rock art possesses for
unraveling the mysteries of the past, there is a perception that scholars, by
and large, have been neglecting it, perhaps due to the difficulties associated
with its study and documentation as rock art sites are mainly found in areas that
are difficult to access.
The present Conference therefore has
importance and relevance. There is a growing recognition of the need for a multi-disciplinary
approach to rock art studies given its archaeological worth and utility as a
tool for developing a better understanding among the people of the world. The
participants will deliberate on new documentation and research methodologies
for interpretation of rock art. This would go a long way in consolidating intellectual
resources and generate new ideas on conservation and preservation.
As rock art in India is a living
art tradition practiced by several communities across the country, this
Conference will also focus on initiating a dialogue between the academia and
practicing artists, both from rural and urban areas.
The pressures of urbanisation and
population growth are not only threatening our historic monuments but also
prehistoric rock art sites. Unless we act quickly to improve the manner in
which we look after these treasures, irreparable damage could be caused. This
is a great national enterprise in which different arms of the Government should
partner with civil society and local communities with required imagination and
administrative resolve.
Furthermore, a significant part
of our rock art heritage still remains outside the purview of the
Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology Departments. We need to
evolve a more holistic approach to the study, documentation and conservation of
rock art taking into account the social and economic needs of the local community,
especially the indigenous people, the aborigines, tribals and nomads.
I would urge the Ministry of
Culture, the Archaeological Survey of India, State Archaeology Departments and
other allied departments like Forests, Geology and Mining to ensure greater
integration of effort for preservation and conservation of these sites.
Successful conservation must
necessarily incorporate local area development through employment generation,
boosting local crafts and arts, building of infrastructure, environmental conservation
and landscaping. A stronger partnership among different stakeholders, including
local communities, awareness campaigns, capacity building, and involvement of
youth is of great importance for attainment of this goal.
The IGNCA has made outstanding
contribution in disseminating knowledge and information about India’s rich
historical and cultural heritage, as well as for its protection and
conservation. It is one of the pioneering institutions in the country that has
evolved a holistic approach to study rock art and communities who lives in the
vicinity of the rock art sites. However, it is only through a collective effort
that we can make a paradigm shift in the way we conserve our precious cultural
heritage.
I wish the Conference all success.
I thank Ambassador Gharekhan for inviting me.”
*****
Sanjay
Kumar/VPI (1)/06.12.2012